Illinois notebook: Shortstop sets home run record

Tuesday

Illinois senior shortstop Angelena Mexicano can drive the ball out of the park so easily, she'll be driving a new truck soon.

Angelena Mexicano, who leads the nation and set a single-season school record with 22 homers, first wanted a motorcycle to get around campus. But she cut a deal with her father, Mike, who eventually said he'd buy his daughter something with four wheels if she hit 20 homers this spring. Angelena Mexicano reached the magic number last week at DePaul.

When she reached third base during her home run trot, Illinois coach Terri Sullivan said, "You got your car!''

"I got into the dugout, and coach was acting like she was driving a steering wheel,'' Angelena Mexicano said.

A city bus driver in Mexicano's hometown of San Jose, Calif., who worked overtime and saved his vacation days to make the regular trips to the Midwest, Mike Mexicano can only blame himself.

"At a really young age, her dad told her to swing as hard as she can,'' Sullivan said. "She's very strong, and she's got great bat speed.''

Angelena Mexicano also holds the school's single-season records with 60 RBIs, 60 runs scored and 146 total bases. She has career records with 49 homers, 162 RBIs, 401 total bases and 162 runs scored. Not bad for a player who didn't homer as a freshman, but she learned better plate discipline and gained strength in the weight room. Of course, she kept swinging hard.

"It's not going anywhere if I don't swing hard,'' said the 5-foot-4 Angelena Mexicano.

One of five Mexicano sisters, Angelena followed her father's advice and played softball.

"He was the one who signed me up,'' she said. "I was scared to play at first. I didn't want to get hurt or dirty.''

Now, it's Angelena Mexicano who is making a mess of the record book. She needs one homer to tie the Big Ten single-season record.

The Illini (29-28 overall, 8-10 in the Big Ten) have a home doubleheader against Southern Illinois on Wednesday with single games against Iowa on Saturday (world's largest tailgate promotion) and Sunday (senior day).

Tied for fifth in the conference standings, Illinois is nearly assured of a berth in the eight-team conference tournament.

Meanwhile, Angelena Mexicano already made her choice: a Toyota truck.

"I thought I set the bar pretty high, but she met the goal,'' Mike Mexicano said. "I'll come through with it. She had me at the car lot. We met a dealer. He was following her progress. As soon as he found out she hit the 20th, he gave her a call. He said, 'I got your truck.' ''

As for the degree in advertising she will earn this fall, Angelena Mexicano might not put it to use anytime soon. After playing professionally this summer in Akron, Ohio, she will likely enroll in a law enforcement training program. If so, figure that she'll swing that night stick pretty hard.

Mike Mexicano already feels bad for the criminals.

Football

Offensive tackle Akim Millington became the sixth Illini senior to sign a free-agent deal when he agreed with the New Orleans Saints, and fullback Russ Weil and safety Justin Sanders will join teams in mini-camps later this week.

Weil is headed to the Chicago Bears camp while Sanders will join the Detroit Lions.

Golf

After freshman Scott Langley shot a one-over par 289 to finish fourth and lead Illinois to third place at the Big Ten Conference meet Sunday, the Illini expect to receive their first bid to NCAA regional competition in four years.

"All five of our players are back next year,'' coach Mike Small said. "This experience is only going to help us as we go forward.''

Baseball

Left fielder Casey McMurray became the first Illini freshman to earn Big Ten player of the week in 11 years after hitting .733 in four games against Penn State over the weekend. He was 11-for-15 at the plate with five hits in the series opener and four hits in the finale. He raised his batting average in conference play to .429, a jump of 135 points.

Gymnastics

Men's coach Yoshi Hayasaki, who guided Illinois to the 1989 NCAA title and five Big Ten championships, announced that he will retire following next season, his 33rd at the helm. Illinois finished third at the NCAA meet earlier this month and returns three star freshmen, including NCAA champ Paul Ruggeri. The Illini have finished in the top five at the NCAA meet for the past six seasons.

John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com.

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